Feed control for gang saws



Aug. 16, 1949.

J- WE GNER FEED CONTROL FOR GANG SAWS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 21,1947 s r INVEIVT-VR.

J. WEGNER FEED CONTROL FOR GANG saws Aug. 16, 1949;

Filed June 21, 1947 mrvzkraz.

' Aug. 16, 1949. J. WEGNER 2,478,957

FEED CONTROL FOR GANG SAWS Filed June 21, 1947 v 3 Sheets-Shee t 5 F1 55A; L z 56' INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 16, 1949 I 2,478,957 n FEED CONTROL FOB. GANG saws JuliusWagner, Flushing, N. Y.

Application June 21, 1947. Serial No. 156,124

14 fllaims. (Cl. 125-16) This invention reiatesbroadly to stone sawing Ior cut-ting machines and more particularly to feeding mechanism forintermittently lowering or feeding the saw blades into the stone'to beout. i

The structure of these sawing machines, 1 called gang saws in the trade,usually consists ofa frame, which carries a sash in which any number ofsaw blades from a few to a .few hundred may be mounted. The sashiramemay be operated in a number of difierent ways. as. for instance, by.means of amnk shaft and a connecting-rod. 1

For the purpose oicutting through a stone slab, the frame, carrying thesaw blades,

is successively iowercd. .Heretndore, .the lowering of the sash frameorthe feeding of the saw blades into the stone. has been accomplishedeither-by a separate driwe whicn 'operatedth-e ie'eding screws of thesash frame, or the reed ing mechanism has been interconnected with themain drive ofthe machine, such as the crank shaft, thus operating thefeeding screws intenmittently by means of gear trains, ratchets, orarrangements. The drawback oi'the latter arrangement has been that theof the :rate or feed has been .very cumbersome and necessitated eithershutting down thesegang saws altogether, which-besides an inevitableloss of time, was likely to result 'inan uneven out through the stoneslab; or the operator had to climb up to the top the gang saworder toreadjustthe feed,=wh-ic'n is an inconvenient as well as a dangeroustask. Actuating the sash feed by means of gearing, ratchets, and thelike, of course, limits the rate of iced to certain multiples of a givenieed. (Lonsequentiy, the

feed can be adjusted in infinite steps from minimum to maximum while thesaw in operation and from the regular working position of operator wouldnever adjust the most emcien-t feeding rate, and to prevent jamming thesaw blades and doing other damage with too rapid a feeding rate, theoperator has a natu-ral'tendency to set the feeder the sash' frame at-u.slow enough rate ate obviate 'these calamities under anyand allcircumstances.

The need has been alt in the trade for many years for .a sash frame-feedwhich could (1) be adiusliedby the operator-with convenience and without:danger while the saw tsin operation,

ing mechanism depicted in Fig. 1 and part of the V gang'saw proper.

, F g. 3*is a, fragmentary view in front elevation, illustrating amodification of the sash feed. Fig. shows the one-way clutches employedin the-novel 'sashieed to a larger scale. a

Fig. 5 is an enilarged fragmentary detail View in front elevation ofsash frame adfiusting screws,

such-as may be employed on each one of the four eorners of as'tandardgang saw. g I

Fig.6 is-an enlarged sectional view of the feed control box mounted onthe crank shaft.

Fi'gi'"? Shows a View along line 'I-1 of Fig. =6.

Fig. 8 shows a modi-fication of the feed control iii-neutral position.

Fig, 9 -=fliustrates the position of the device shown'in Fig.- 8while'the "feeding" rate is being decreased by reducing the eccentricityor crank "threw. j

Fi'gilG depicts "the tower part of the slide of the modified feedcontrol;

'Figsfl'i and 12 show the split clamping ring;

in greater detail.

g Gaina rsaw'pmper 7 Referring to the general assembly shown in Figs. 1and 2 of the drawings, the gang saw proper is illustrated snore or lessdiagrammatically bocause it wili be understood that the improvedsas-iizfeeding mechanism may -be used andadaoted to any type of gangsaw. The main frame of the gang saw is formed by vertical beams orcolumns ldpinterconnected by cross beams 1'2. Asash name-or sash 13 ofany conventional de sign mountedin said main frame or main structure andmay be horizontally guided by slides I4. Sash '13 may oe reiprccated byany suitable means, such as connecting i9, pivotaily'semired tosashframe 43 and actuated by means of crankshaft '20, as shown. Crankshaft30 carries flywheels 2 and 21A, which latter is their upper ends bevelgears I! in mesh with.

bevel gears WA on shafts [8, All spindles [6 are driven in synchronismby means of said bevel HA and additional bevel gears ll,

gears I 112,. when shaft I8 is rotated.

The gang saw, as briefly described above, is of altogether conventionaldesign and does not form part of the present invention.

Sash frame. feed Feed control box 22, which is equivalent to aninstantaneously adjustablecrank, may be mount.- ed at one end ofcrankshaft 26. A connecting rod 23 is provided to transmit theoscillatingmotion created by feed control box 22 to a crank arm24, fastto an intermediate shaft 25, which may be mounted in bearings '26 and27, supported either on the structure of the gang saw itself or on someauxiliary structure 28, formed b timbers or the like (Figs. 1, 2). Adouble crank arm 29, mounted in between bearings 26 and 21, is fastenedto intermediate shaft 25, so that any oscillating movement of connectingrod 23 and crank arm24, respectively, is transmitted to double crank arm29. A bottom bar 30 and a top bar 3| transmit theoscillation of doublecrank 29 to cranks, 32 and 33, respectively, which are secured to onewayclutches '31 and 38, respectively, mounted on clutch shaft 34, which isjournalled in bearings 35 and 36, respectively, supported by the machineproper or by the auxiliary structure 28. Clutch shaft 34 also carriespinion 39, in mesh with gear 40 on main feed shaft 4|. The latter isjournalled in bearings 42 and 43. Gear 40, Whose hub 44 may form onehalf of a jaw clutch, is freely rotate able on shaft 4 l to whichcomplementar clutchhalf 45 is slidably keyed, so that member. 45 may bebrought into and out of engagement with clutch-half 44 by means of ahand lever or other suitable arrangement (not shown). Shaft 4! alsocarries fast and loose pulleys 46 and 41. These pulleys are arranged forrapid adjustment of the sash frame l3 in a vertical direction. Aseparate drive is generally used for this purpose, such as an electricmotor with belt driving said pulleys 45 and 41. When employing thisrapid feed, jaw-clutch 4445 is in disengaged position (as shown in Fig.2), thereby rendering the work feed from feed control box 22inoperative. The rotation of shaft 4|, whether caused by. feed C011:trol box 22 or by said rapid height adjustment, is transmitted to theseveral shafts [8 of the machine proper by means of gear 48, fast toshaft 4|, and pinion 49, fast to one-of the feed shafts l8, as shown. Aspreviously described, the sash frame I3 is thereby evenly lifted or.lowered by means of vertical spindles l6. When the rapid heightadjustment is not to be used, the beltis shifted to the loose pulley,thereby rendering this auxiliary rapid feed means inoperative.

It is pointed out, that the previously mentioned one-way clutches 3! and38 are of conventional design and can only impart clockwise rotation toshaft 34. v Hence when crank arm 29 moves in a clockwise direction,clutch 38 will turn shaft 34 clockwise, while clutch 31, beingsimultaneously rotated counter-clockwise, is free-wheeling, and viceversa. It will be seen, therefore, that the feed screws l6 of the gangsaw are operated durin the forward stroke of the sash frame l3 as wellas on its back stroke, thus imparting to the saws in sash frame (3 twodownward feeding cycles for each reciprocating cycle of the sash frameI3. This double feed has proven ver advantageous in cutting certainstones and has increased the cutting rate very appreciably.

If it is desired to impart to the sash frame only one feeding movementfor each of its reciprocating cycles, bar 30 may be connected to a fixedpoint on the structure, as shown in Fig. 3. Thus one-way clutch 37 isrendered inoperative as regards imparting rotation to shaft 34 but willact as a brake to prevent any torsional springback of shaft 34, whichmight otherwise be caused by the elastic deformation in the variouslinks of the feeding mechanism. It should also be observed that thefree-wheeling clutch will act similarly during the double feed cycle. Inother words, this design positively eliminates any undesirable torsionalspringback for the single as well as the double feed cycle;Feedinginaccuracies, such as found in conventional feed mechanisms, aredone away with.

' Feed control boo:

Feed control box 22, shown in Figs. 6 and '7, is adapted to beconveniently adjustable to produce any desired eccentricity from zero tomaximum, while the gang saw is in operation.

The feed control mechanism is mounted in a housing 50, from which asuitable hub 5| extends for mounting on crank shaft 20 by means of setscrews52 or other suitable means. A hand wheel 53 is keyed and pinned toadjusting spindle 54, which is rotatably mounted in front in thehub-like projection 56 of slide 55 and is journalled in the rearlinbracket 51A, suitably fastened to slide '55 by means of bolts orthe-like, asshown. Bevel gears 57 and 58 are fixedly mounted inspaced-apart relationship on spindle 54. In slide 55 a threadedadjusting screw 59 is journalled, which carries on its right-hand endbevel gear 60, located substantially centrally between. bevel gears 51,and 58 when adjusting spindle 54 is in neutral position, as shown inFigs. 6 and 7. Screw 59 is in threaded engagement with wall SI of thefixed inside structure 62, which consists of said transverse wall BI andleft and right members 63 and 64, respectively. This inside structure 62is fixedly mounted with respect to the housing 50 and may be welded tothe latter, as shown, or fastened to it by other suitable means. Slide55 is provided at its front with shoulders 65,, which guide feed slide55 on corresponding shoulders 66 of sides 63 and 64 of inside structure62.

The rear end 61 of spindle 54 extends into an elongated slot 68 ofhousing 50. In the neutral position of the feed control, which term willbe more fully explained later, the end 61 of spindle 54 rests againstthe left-hand end of slotBB (Fig. 6), thus providing a definite stop forspindle 54 towards the left. When spindle 54 is in its extremeright-hand position, further travel in this direction will be limited bythe end 61 of spindle 54 coming in contact with the right-hand end ofsaid elongated slot 68.

Slide 55 carries on its hub-like projection 56 a flanged, circular disc69, whose shoulders 12 are adapted to slide on shoulders 10 and 'H ofleft and right-hand members 63 and 64, as shown,

game

M of dke' 611s aflaptw twrecemme right-W afiee'n 2-3; is me m oseilletesaid hub Y it; re keep the connecting rod eneiin pliee wwasherlk is mewas may beiocatecii aeaiiistxhub lci'by mans Iockwheeil threaded ell--hub: 5&3 siicie It isi'pointed out threzd en end; nubxii iez-a memetmreaad, the erankshaftw um smrevawes insciockwise eh'ectim esimiieatedin 5 same theresstimefi'the crankshaft win-hue tendeneytoi-tightenieekring: 155; It timbeneted that, by tightening lock nugfli shde wholefeecieoiismi: mechanism will-Abe bake-xi piece,- se that. theeecentri'city: oh disc as cannot or change; onee ioeb fiehtened.

\ o' Feed adafushnent.

Fig. 6 shows the feed control mechanisrmimmu talmesitiqm-that- Z-iS;imselismnent eenteriinenfierankehattt it; Feed uhthemferei; is;concentric-with the exams- 31281155 liwithi chm that: connecting: mazeshence: thefeedi tes the gang; aerm The hand: wheeiizfli-fwill of MUSE;revolve; if: net inhettfemd; with,.,. as lung: as cream-shaft emsreed/hinge; (ixmsequentlyg szpimiie ab veleeam; 51; and; 5% Wili i also;remive; m homer; i1: engagement with the bevel, seem in; e Spindle 5tpmvided with annuianigmemz 1 67: and; slide SSmar-riesra fortheyositiveiaeatinn oi spindleufleinx its neutral? Ifi-it iS-"dfiSiiEdto increase the feed and, consequently, the stneim otthemarmeetingmdHimmseermte same larger alu w ile crankshaft m is mam with: feedcontrol; 130x1 22; lock eingflids leusen'ed' amishand wisiixeei'v 531-:messed inwards hem; stationary; thereby; -ge arse 53 and-518;:to-revoive screw 5&5 Thisisesew beiiigrigh-tehandianwbeine imthestationary: structure it; will; cause-.- thei-slideifi Y he: mwddi to;the. rightg thus bringing spindle EAiianci-stmke'JdisuGQ imam eeeentric..yositien'with-xegardn te'eranieshait; 2 0. W hemthe: ,desired:eeeentricitm is hand ;53.- ---is, ;puHed -eut; intos'neutral ,pusitiomta. disengage -beveli gems; 51: and i and; the: mecha anismis-iwke.egeim meaes an leek; ring. 35; uersm tmdeerease; the head -hand 53 ispuiieitewand the fzcentx aitenhvloosening leek Iine- 4 b m fi s afidiillmnemmught mm engegementeherebm meei singi the.- notation (ii-the,adiusting ,screm-iS-end;mnvingi'the shde55 fiowends the; Whemthe dashedweentmicitm (and; hence memorie -pending: stroke oi, eanneetingmean is;ettainedifipindie; Mei-is pushemi; into, neutral position; again; sothat the,

geers .axe: not-in mesh; and) lemming; FPS-is locked; Asepreviousiy.painted ,out theimaximum; wave! of screw 59. and; slide: 55" is:limited: by the elongated slot 68, giving; zemweecentrieity whenzqshaft.1 rests; against the kit-hand wallbandl maximum ieceentricitm when said.shaft; endfi'heomes ineontaet with-.flie; ri ghmm wail efslot. 63;. j VWhilejbeyelgeaxs ili iaendfii haveheensheive in thishpreferredyemhodimenti. ofmy; invention,- itQwilIjbe understood othenty e; 01h drive teactuateadius'ting screw Steould heempieyed; as, forinstaneeheonieahinietiom discsor. simii-an devices I v 'While. :no.scales for; aseertainingv the amount of Ii-i63 ;ai f il is'tecijiiyimeansuoi. 't'he feeieontml. been 22 have been shown drawings ih is,,.,eh

F188; 'i md i aa-ieit immi fireside-d? Inching. ring lil'andzwashez' wmvshown taioekrthe adjusted; and!) show members; Item: ii replaced?minn'eir meme; outer together mma -V shapes, as shemsmopeeetihg with:the inelin'emsaefw msplits ring 1 1 we E2); emehhale o! with Tha itossesses; emsliifing fit 'oni 8 nimg-ie isrinl tin-headed?engagementw-ifle euwofisaie huh 5imar-my leekezhw'ihe. mew oi s: setsceew I2 ari'diiewtfi Te meiiitate assembly oi split riiig:wmay'besiotted and: saim siets egiimey mm as ziter'assembiy wieeveeseams fit for pins 8| (Fig. 10). The wedge angles eii' ringsfli and aimriiig U are seieetked "as te cl-earaiiee between aejseene strings: 1:indie when assembiedi Fig. e shows spindle inineutrai and ioeiiedpesftiem M this position sheen (1e pins" 8 I resii agai nst fifiidimeteroi s iihdieflm" Bum infi'en-ti and bzefi'ef this 'positiehhowever; the diameter *0? siaiiidiei? isredutied distehce', as shewn 8*53312139? 'H-enee; wheh -hand wheeii's qaulieif -eh as i'i-Fig1fi; lttherfez efstih' fizrthefsirfiphfies chahging the adiustinent efehe=-r-eeeizi-g*ratewhiie the gang saw is in opet'tiohyfeed mount'eciditetly (in-the emii'fei iii-leeravrfl zshz'iit 2 0 of the iiieiifdrfvei is that this-*is nofianessefltiai" part n: my invention, asthefeed box mar-be mounted uh any synehronouslyrotiatingmemb'er of 'a'machine and? the linkage mechai'n ism ehanged accordihig'isfi v:edvamages of my inflh'it'eiyvari-ablesingle andidwble feeflhavebemshowrr in connectidii wmi a gang sew-fer partingbr"sawihg"stbn,"b1iii it 'wiii' he understddd' 'that' this same' devicealso be 'used" in eonneetion= withother equipmen neq'liifingmfi simfl'arfeeflfiwhiehis adiust'ame whee hropetafifim l While I have shownandfiesefibeihyfiafof examp'ieemeehemsmforiatt'aihihg "the-stated -01:insets, wish to: haveit understood that varieiis changes mnmodifieatiensmay-"he memi'e wifiiiii v the scope: of; the claims hereto attachedwithout meamefirm" said: sash 'reli'rhi i e:

Smetruetume, teed: b13588 the stone block, two one-way clutch mechanismsfor. alternately actuating said sash adjusting means, and feed-controlmeansoperatively .connected with said-two one-way. clutch mechanisms,said feed control means having adjustable stroke means .associatdtherewith for changing the rate of. feed. a

2. In a machine for parting stone blocks and the like, a multiplicity ofsaw blades, 2. sash for mounting said blades, a structure to suspendsaidsash, means for actuating .said sash relative to said structure,adjusting means for lowering said sash to feedsaid saw bladesprogressively into the stone block, two one-way clutch'mechanisms foralternately actuating said sash adjusting means, and feed control meansoperae tively connected with said two one-way clutch mechanisms, saidfeed control means having ad-'- justable stroke means associatedtherewith for changing the rate of feed while the machine is inoperation, and locking means for locking said adjustable stroke means inits adjusted position. f:

3; In a machine of the character described, 'a multiplicity of sawblades, a sash for mounting said blades, a structure to suspend saidsash, means for reciprocating said sash relative to said structure,means for adjusting said sash vertically, to feed said saw bladesprogressively into the work material, two one-way clutch mechanisms foralternately actuating said sash adjusting means in synchronism with thereciprocating movement of the sash, said one-way clutch 'mechanismsbeing adapted to alternately lock said sash adjusting means againsttorsonal spring-back during part of their operating cycle, feed controlmeans operatively connected with said two one-way clutch mechanisms,said feed control means having adjustable stroke control meansassociated therewith for changing therate of feed.

4. In a gang saw for parting stone blocks and the like, a sash, meansfor reciprocating said sash, further means for adjusting said sash invertical direction, two one-way clutch mechanisms for actuating saidadjusting means, and a feed control device adapted to actuatesaid twooneway clutches in synchronismwith the reciprocating movement of saidsash. a

5. In a gang saw for parting stone blocks and the like, .a sash, meansfor reciprocating said sash, further means for adjusting said sash invertical direction, two one-way clutch mechanisms operatively connectedwith said sash adjusting means, a feed control device-for actuating saidtwo one-way clutch mechanisms in synchronis'm with the reciprocatingmovement of said sash, one of said one-way clutch mechanisms beingadapted to actuate .said adjusting means during the forward swingof thesash and the other one-way clutch mechanism being adapted to actuatesaid adjusting means during the return swing of said sash.

6. In a gang saw for parting stone blocks and thelike, a sash, means forreciprocating said sash, further means for adjusting said sash invertical direction, two one-way clutch mechanisms operatively connectedwith said sash adjusting means, a feed control device for actuating saidtwo one-way clutch mechanisms in synchronism with the reciprocatingmovement of said sash, .Said one-way clutch mechanisms being adapted toactuate. said sash adjusting means alternately during the forward andreturn swings of said sash and to lock said sash adjusting means againsttorsional spring-back during. the re-@ maind'er of their respectiveoperating cycles.

7.111 a machine of the characterdescribed, a sash frame, a crankshaft,operatively'connected to saidsash frame to reciprocatethe latter, meansfor adjusting said sash frame in vertical direction, two one-way clutchmechanisms for alternately actuating said adjusting means, a feedcontrol device operatively connected to said clutch mechae nismscomprising a housing for mounting on said crankshaft to rotate said feedcontrol device in synchronism .withsaid reciprocating sash frame, anadjustable slide in said housing acting as a crank, a screw adjustingmechanism for said slide, means for rotating said-screw adjustingmechanism ineither direction for increasing or decreasing theeccentricity of said slide while the crankshaft is rotating, and meansfor locating and locking said rotating means in inoperative position. 1V

8. In a stone cutting machine having a plurality of saw blades mountedin a reciprocating sash frame, means for moving said sash frame invertical direction for feeding the saw blades into the stone block,including a control device adapted to be adjusted while said sash framereciprocates, two one-way clutch mechanisms operatively connected withsaid control device and said sash frame adjusting means for alternatelyactuating the latter, said one-Way clutch mechanisms being also adaptedto lock said sash frame adjusting means against torsional spring-backduring part of the operating cycle, and threaded means for locating saidcontrol device in its adjusted position.

9. A feed control device of the character described, means-for rotatingsaid device in synchronism with the operation of a machine, said feedcontrol device comprising a'slide producing a crank motion, means fordisplacing said slide eccentrically to increase or decrease its throwwhile said feed'control device is rotating, andwedge-like locking meansfor maintaining said slide in displaced position. 1 1 i 10. In a gangsaw for'cut ting stone blocks and the like, a sash frame, sawbladesmounted in-said sash frame, a crankshaft-operatively-connected to saidsashframe to'reciprocate the latter, a feed control device comprising ahousing for mounting said device .on the crankshaft to rotate saiddevice in synchronism with said sash frame, an adjustable slide in-saidhousing producing a crank motion, threaded means associated with saidslide adaptedto displace said slide, actuating means for said threadedmeans for increasing or decreasing the eccentricity of said slide whilesaid crankshaft and said feed control device are rotat ing, means forlocating said actuating means in an inoperative position, and furthermeans for locking said actuating means in said inoperative positionand-for simultaneously locking said slide in its adjusted position.

' 11. In a machine of the character described, a multiplicity of sawblades, a sash for mounting said blades, a structure to suspend said'sash, means for reciprocating said sash relative to said structure,means for adjusting said sash vertically to feed said saw blades intothe work material, ratchet means for actuating said sash adjustingmeans, other ratchet means for locking said sash adjusting means againsttorsional spring-back, a feed control device for actuating said firstratchet means, means for rotating said feed control device insynchronismwith the reciprocating sash frame, said feed control devicecomprising a slide producing a crank motion, means for displacing saidslide eccentrically to increase or decrease its throw while said feedcontrol device is rotating, and locking means for maintaining said slidein displaced position.

12. Mechanism for progressively feeding the reciprocating sash frame ofstone cutting saws towards the work material comprising a controldevice, means for rotating said control device in synchronism with thereciprocating sash frame, said control device including a slideproducing a crank motion, means for displacing said slide eccentricallyto increase or decrease its throw while said control device is rotating,locking means for maintaining said slide in displaced position; tworatchet mechanisms operatively connected with said slide and adapted tofeed the sash frame towards the work material in synchronism with thereciprocating movement of the latter.

13. In a feed control device, means for rotating said device insynchronism with the operation of a machine, said feed control devicecomprising means for producing a crank-motion, other means fordisplacing said crank-motion producing means eccentrically to increaseor decrease its throw while said feed control device is rotating, andauxiliary means for maintaining said crankmotion producing means indisplaced position.

r 10 14. A feed control device, means for rotating said device insynchronism with the operation of a machine, said feed control devicecomprising a housing, a slide associated with said housing for producinga crank motion, a spindle in threaded engagement with said housing andadapted to actuate said slide to displace the latter eccentrically toincrease or decrease its throw, a drive shaft rotatably mounted in saidslide at substantially a right angle relative to the axis of saidspindle, cooperating driving means mounted on said spindle and on saiddrive shaft adapted to selectively rotate said spindle in either .one oftwo directions while said feed control device is rotating, and auxiliarymeans for locking said slide in displaced position.

' JULIUS WEGNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 322,821 Hofer July 21, 1885530,910 Stone Dec. 11, 1894 2,320,235 I-Ijarpe et al May 25, 1943

